DP World Tour reveals details of further sanctions against LIV ‘rebels’

The DP World Tour has revealed details of further sanctions it has imposed on members who have breached its Conflicting Tournament Regulation with appearances on the LIV Golf League and Asian Tour.

A total of 26 players were today informed individually of the sanctions applicable to them based on the specific conflicting tournaments they each played in, as a DP World Tour member, without being granted a release.

These sanctions include fines and, in some instances, tournament suspensions. It is understood the level of sanctions imposed was determined on a case-by-case basis and took into account differences between the events in terms of the impact on the DP World Tour’s broadcast partners, sponsors and stakeholders.

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Fines ranged from £12,500 to £100,000 for each individual breach of the Conflicting Tournament Regulation.

The total cumulative suspension imposed on any single player for breaches in the period June 22, 2022, to April 2, 2023 is a maximum of eight DP World Tour tournaments, comprising a combination of one or two-week suspensions.

The suspensions imposed relate to regular season DP World Tour events and will run consecutively, effective from the Porsche European Open from June 1-4, 2023 – the first tournament chronologically on the DP World Tour schedule whose entry list remains open as of today.

Players who have resigned their membership will not be eligible for reinstatement unless and until they pay their fines and their suspensions will apply from then onwards.

Further sanctions for breaches of the Conflicting Tournament Regulation in events which occurred subsequent to April 2, 2023, are set to be considered in due course.

Statement from the DP World Tour on player sanctions.

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 11, 2023

Today’s development is the latest move by the DP World Tour to defend itself against the emergence of LIV Golf. Last month, an independent arbitrator determined that the circuit had acted ‘entirely reasonably in refusing releases’ for those events and that the Conflicting Tournament Regulation was ‘reasonable and proportionate to the Tour’s continued operation as a professional golf tour’.

It also upheld the tour’s original sanctions against players who competed in the first two LIV Golf events in 2022 at the Centurion Club in England and at Pumpkin Ridge in Oregon.

That prompted the resignation last week of four DP World Tour players who are now aligned to LIV: Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Richard Bland.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor